Zach Sherwin Q&A

Yesterday, Zach Sherwin joined the ERB Discord server unexpectedly and chatted to patrons for over an hour. You can read back through the full chat by heading to the #general-chat channel and clicking on the first pinned message. But, here are the main questions he answered...

Which one was your favourite ERB role? Multiple favorite roles, for different reasons. Sherlock's slo-mo figuring-out-Batman's-parent-trauma verse was a series highlight for me. Loved all those Gordian-knot rhymes in Alexander. Egon Spengler was the most fun to act. And Einstein will always be special. As far as writing, demoing Isaac Newton for Weird Al, a demo in which i did a light imitation of him, and then hearing him track it back having clearly studied the demo - so in effect him imitating me imitating him  - that is a special creative experience!

How has work outside of ERB been, Zach? The Crossword Show is my new baby. It's basically a live show where I preside over comedians solving a crossword puzzle live onstage. The puzzle is projected on a big screen, so the crowd can see it all happening. It has raps, comedy, trivia, wordplay. It's the most me thing I've ever done. I love it so much! We're about to tour the East Coast, if anyone's in New England or NYC

What has been your favourite line from season 6 so far? "You're an ump-Che! That's Bay Of Pigs Latin"

Would you say you have a character you most want to tackle at some point? A few people are asking about what characters I wanna be. Twain has been mentioned. That would be cool. This is not a secret clue, just answering a question. Nothing has been decided. I also like Lovecraft - the author and the suggestch. He is super creepy and influential.

What is one thing that will distract you from anything you're working on? Having my phone on while i'm trying to go deep

Most difficult character for you to get into? Wayne Gretzky. I do not like hockey, though I did go see the Blues play the Blackhawks when I was 14. Ed Belfour is a name I remember that has no meaning to me. A goalie, I believe.

How was working on Crazy-Ex Girlfriend? Awesome. Rachel is unbelievable. They'd kick me a script and tell me what needed to get said, then I'd plug and chug. I can't BELIEVE how many inside Jewish jokes they let me put into JAP Battle

How long you been vegan? I've barred meat from my diet for 13 years! I call it my bar meats-vah. Old joke. I've been vegan since 2001. Been vegetarian since i was 13, stopped liking ovo-lacto stuff - just wasn't into eating it - but now i do it for every reason you can imagine - health, animal, enviro, etc.

What's your favorite pun in all of ERB? "Vodka bars: flavorless" comes to mind. I do LOVE "income pleat" - that's my favorite.

Are you familiar with the poets Homer and Dante? I would say not especially familiar, though I did do an audio sketch comedy project for the Divine Comedy unit in 9th grade

Is there any line you remember being vetoed for being too convoluted in its wordplay? I actually really appreciate how much Pete and especially Lloyd are open to some of the shit I pitch. i feel like Lloyd and I are sometimes in different places with how much of that we would naturally put in, but I feel very appreciated and I think all of our different styles combine nicely.

Zach will be back on the Discord in the not too distant future. Thanks for everyone who joined in the chat. He loved talking to you all. Do check out his new live show "The Crossword Show" and follow him on twitter at https://twitter.com/zachsherwin